Popejoy Takes Parting Shots at Orange County Supervisors

Orange County Chief Executive Officer William J. Popejoy, who unexpectedly resigned this week, Thursday criticized the government he tried to lead out of bankruptcy and took parting shots at several county supervisors, saying they do not have the talent to solve the crisis.

Meanwhile, the supervisors sought to put the best possible spin on the latest upheaval, downplaying the role their top executive would have played in the ongoing bankruptcy recovery effort.

“I’m disappointed in the county government’s leadership and greatly concerned about the organization, which is dysfunctional, in my mind,” said Popejoy, who will officially step down July 31, four months earlier than anticipated.

One day after he resigned in frustration, contending that interference from supervisors had made his job impossible, Popejoy chiefly took to task his critics on the board, Roger R. Stanton, Jim Silva and Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez.

“I don’t know how they are going to get back to the management of this county when they haven’t shown any aptitude to do that, as far as I can see,” said Popejoy, who has long contended that the lack of consensus among supervisors made the role of a strong-willed CEO all the more critical. “You have five CEOs now, and that won’t work. It just won’t work.”

Vasquez said he was disappointed by Popejoy’s remarks, but said he would not engage in public name-calling. Stanton and Silva also declined to comment.

The three board members targeted by Popejoy have criticized him in the past for failing to keep them informed about county developments and frequently acting without first apprising his bosses.

They have complained that Popejoy sought to circumvent the democratic process, which they were elected to uphold. The supervisors have also criticized him for relying on an unsuccessful half-cent sales tax proposal and not thoroughly examining other alternatives--despite their repeated demands that he do so.

In an interview, Popejoy complained that Vasquez had been a “disappointment” and a “frustration.” He was particularly dismayed that the board chairman had publicly complained of being out of the information loop.

“I’ve been with him more hours a week than I’m with my wife,” Popejoy said.

Asked if he thought Vasquez was a good leader, Popejoy replied curtly: “Gaddi is a good speaker.”

He complained that Silva and Stanton--with whom he had sparred publicly--were the two supervisors quickest to gripe about his proposals without offering their own suggestions.

“They really haven’t been contributors, and when things didn’t work out that well, they sort of backed off and said, ‘Hey, that was Bill’s idea,’ ” remarked Popejoy, who added that virtually every element of his bankruptcy recovery plan received formal board endorsement. “The board’s involvement [in crafting bankruptcy solutions] has been basically nonexistent.”

The millionaire Newport Beach businessman, who agreed to serve the county without taking a salary, insisted that he was not speaking out of bitterness, but out of concern for the future of the county, which lost $1.7 billion on a risky investment strategy that ultimately triggered the unprecedented bankruptcy.

In evaluating his bosses, Popejoy complained that the supervisors have all gone separate ways, except for Silva--who he said could always be counted on to follow Stanton’s lead. “Only one of them thinks, so they can’t have a difference,” Popejoy said with a smile.

He accused Silva of wanting to “run the county,” but questioned whether he had the skills to do so.

“I would say based on Mr. Silva’s background that he is not prepared to be a manager of Orange County,” Popejoy said. “As laudable as it is to have a career as a high school teacher, I don’t know that that necessarily prepares you to run a large government entity.”

Popejoy’s chief complaint was that the board members--politicians with little or no management or financial expertise--refused to step back and let him do his job. He said his replacement--whom the board is scrambling to find--will have even more problems, because supervisors intend to rein in his or her authority.

Even as the CEO lambasted the board, the supervisors tried to maintain a positive outlook on their situation.

Vasquez dismissed Popejoy’s resignation as an unfortunate “interruption” in the county’s financial recovery and disputed any notion that his departure was a significant blow.

“There are many, many people, talented people, working to resolve this bankruptcy,” Vasquez said early Thursday. Vasquez did not return phone calls seeking a response to Popejoy’s comments made later in the day.